Thank the Wall Street speculators for high gas prices

Because it's not about supply and demand. Plenty of supply, consumption is down, lots of gas in reserve, and yet prices continue to rise because the Wall Street thieves, the same people who brought you the Great Depression and the recent recession, are allowed to operate unchecked.

Secondly, it's a refining issue, and it's an issue of the blends required by states like California.

Lastly, what have we done to put downward pressure on oil prices? Without the prospect of any new drilling, refinery capacity, new nuclear plants, etc., there isn't a ton of downside risk for a speculator who goes long crude. It's not going to zero.

Secondly, it's a refining issue, and it's an issue of the blends required by states like California.

Lastly, what have we done to put downward pressure on oil prices? Without the prospect of any new drilling, refinery capacity, new nuclear plants, etc., there isn't a ton of downside risk for a speculator who goes long crude. It's not going to zero.

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Plenty of natural gas being flared off in North Dakota that could provide enough electricity for a year for nearly 850,000 homes. You'd think the prospect of capturing that gas would drive oil prices downward.

Secondly, it's a refining issue, and it's an issue of the blends required by states like California.

Lastly, what have we done to put downward pressure on oil prices? Without the prospect of any new drilling, refinery capacity, new nuclear plants, etc., there isn't a ton of downside risk for a speculator who goes long crude. It's not going to zero.

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As the article notes, we have reduced consumption to the point that we are now a net exporter of gasoline. Typically the law of supply and demand would yield lower prices as a result. And yet no.

No doubt Ragu is taking up his warm up and limbering up his fingers to respond.

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As someone said, if you think it's that easy, or you're so sure about how the game is rigged, knock yourself out trying to buy and sell oil. You might learn a hard lesson.

Speculation isn't a game of driving up prices on people. You can earn money just as easily when oil prices are declining as you can when they are going up. So it's not like people have a natural vested stake in the price of anything going up. Volatility makes money. Not upward prices.

There isn't anyone big enough to rig the oil market. You want to talk silver? OK. But not oil. And if you think I am wrong, go out investigate and offer the proof. You'll find out how silly the idea is.

There are a gazillion factors that contribute to the price of oil--in supply (which is declining, by the way) and demand. That piece was simplistic and wrong.

If you want to find a culprit (for why a bunch of commodities have seen their prices go up, not just oil), the first place you should be looking is the U.S. Federal Reserve. Oil is globally traded in dollars. And Ben Bernanke and his clown cabal have been doing everything they can to shit all over the dollar, devaluing it with a perma-policy of zero interest rates and several rounds of quantitative easing. It has been a feckless attempt to drive economic growth (and has not succeeded), and also to inflate away the debt our last two presidents have been piling up.

With that comes consequences. I've posted about it a lot. It makes everything cost more. You pay for their shenanigans with inflation. And that begins with anything that is traded in dollars. It's why I have had that gold thread going, and it applies to oil, as well.

Take a look at a multiyear chart of the US Dollar Index (which measures the value of our currency against a basket of other currencies). It offers all the answers anyone needs about why any commodity that is traded in dollars has gotten more expensive -- and will continue to if we stay on this course.

So, all these people who have worked in the financial end of the oil industry for decades, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration, don't know what they're talking about? Their analysis is simplistic?

"Without the prospect of any new drilling,"

We're producing more oil right now in the US than ever, and consuming less, and importing less still from the Middle East and getting cheaper imports from Canada. Western North Dakota is one big oil well. But yet we pay through the nose, upwards of $100 per barrel for a products that realistically should be priced in the $70-75 range.

Yes, it's the same old song and dance because that's the tune the speculators keep playing. And once again big oil will announce the largest profits in history, but still contend they need tax break after tax break to remain solvent.

No doubt Ragu is taking up his warm up and limbering up his fingers to respond.

Click to expand...

As someone said, if you think it's that easy, or you're so sure about how the game is rigged, knock yourself out trying to buy and sell oil. You might learn a hard lesson.

Speculation isn't a game of driving up prices on people. You can earn money just as easily when oil prices are declining as you can when they are going up. So it's not like people have a natural vested stake in the price of anything going up. Volatility makes money. Not upward prices.

There isn't anyone big enough to rig the oil market. You want to talk silver? OK. But not oil. And if you think I am wrong, go out investigate and offer the proof. You'll find out how silly the idea is.

There are a gazillion factors that contribute to the price of oil--in supply (which is declining, by the way) and demand. That piece was simplistic and wrong.

If you want to find a culprit (for why a bunch of commodities have seen their prices go up, not just oil), the first place you should be looking is the U.S. Federal Reserve. Oil is globally traded in dollars. And Ben Bernanke and his clown cabal have been doing everything they can to shit all over the dollar, devaluing it with a perma-policy of zero interest rates and several rounds of quantitative easing. It has been a feckless attempt to drive economic growth (and has not succeeded), and also to inflate away the debt our last two presidents have been piling up.

With that comes consequences. I've posted about it a lot. It makes everything cost more. You pay for their shenanigans with inflation. And that begins with anything that is traded in dollars. It's why I have had that gold thread going, and it applies to oil, as well.

Take a look at a multiyear chart of the US Dollar Index (which measures the value of our currency against a basket of other currencies). It offers all the answers anyone needs about why any commodity that is traded in dollars has gotten more expensive -- and will continue to if we stay on this course.

The Saudis are full of shit. They stick to the debunked nonsense that they can regulate supplies. Yet, they are producing at full capacity, can't get enough of the stuff out of the ground to meet demand, and just flat out lie about it. And they point their finger everywhere when people bitch about the price, except at the fact that they can't produce as much oil as they say they can. You don't want to go to Wikileaks when it comes to the Saudis.